It’s safe to say that Demetrius Andrade (29-0, 18 KOs) isn’t a fan of Billy Joe Saunders (30-0, 14 KOs).
“He’s a cheat, he’s a liar, he’s a disgrace, and I can’t wait because if I could possibly put these hands on him, I’m going to f*ck him up,” Andrade said on a recent edition of the Last Stand Podcast with Brian Custer.
The 33-year-old Andrade currently holds the WBO Middleweight championship, but he previously expressed his interest in doing battle with Saunders, the reigning WBO Super Middleweight titleholder who will meet pound-for-pound king Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in a massive 168-pound title unification bout on May 8.
According to “Boo Boo”, however, the interest was never real from Saunder’s side.
“Smoke and mirrors on Billy Joe’s side. He went out there and said I’ll fight Demetrius, he didn’t want to wait on Canelo until May and pretty much just used my name for leverage to make the deal, meaning yo we want this much money or we’re going to fight Demetrius Andrade. We know you really don’t want to fight Demetrius Andrade and the possibilities of us losing is high fighting Demetrius Andrade, and you said you want to unify the belt, so here’s your opportunity.”
Instead, Andrade will next defend his title against mandatory challenger Liam Williams (23-2-1, 18 KOs) on April 17 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Although Williams is 23-2-1 as a professional, he’s not necessarily an opponent that Andrade views as a threat.
“Liam Williams is not someone who’s on my radar, just speaking facts because, at the end of the day, he’s not an elite fighter, elite-level guy that people tune into,” Andrade said. “For him to earn his spot and (Jaime)Munguia, who really was my number one guy to turn down to fight me, and he’s number two now. Williams is not going to stop this train, I expect him to bring a fight because this is his opportunity to make something of himself, his name, but at the end of the day, you get to say I lost to Demetrius Andrade.”
After all, Andrade is after the biggest fights available. And up until this point, those fights have not only eluded him, but he’s been criticized for the lack of elite opponents he’s faced as well.
“I’m stuck in a situation where I’m going to fight whoever is in front of me, and may the opportunity comes, when it comes I can fight one of these elite guys and show people what skills I have versus another elite guy.”
Because of that, Andrade has said that following his fight with Williams, he’ll move up to the 168-pound division, home to names like Saunders and Alvarez, searching for bigger opportunities.
“After this fight, I’ll move up to 168 to fight somebody. At the end of the day, we don’t get no younger, we can’t stay skinny/slim forever, we do put on weight, muscle, and mass. I’m a middleweight, and for me, a middleweight is 154-168, but I can never get back down to 154.”
LAST STAND PODCAST FEATURING DEMETRIUS ANDRADE
